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Becca Hart's Paralympic Dressage Blog

Start of Competition: Horse Inspection

USA London Paralympic Team 2012 (Left to Right, top to bottom) Chef d'Equipe Missy Ransehousen, the late Jonathan Wentz, Rebecca Hart, Dale Dedrick and Donna Ponessa | Copyright Lindsay Yosay McCallAugust 29, 2012
The day started early and was slightly stressful, as all jog inspections are.? This is the day all the team? horses are inspected to make sure they are sound before the competition.??Even if you know your horse is in perfect health, this part is a nail-biter because if the ground jury (the inspectors) find anything wrong you could be out of the running before you even get into the race.? I wore my special?Team USA?Oakleys to cover my nervous expression as we watched the jog.? Lucky for me, there was a rare bit of sunshine at that moment that helped my disguise seem totally natural.
All the USA horses were ridden and schooled in the morning and then brushed and braided to perfection.? Lolu enjoyed his extra spa time.? Did you know horses can benefit from acupuncture too??? Lolu got his acupuncture treatment at the same time team coach Missy was getting hers, though not from the same acupuncturist.? It's hard to say who was more relaxed.
My sister Katie arrived yesterday.? It has been amazing having her here with me at the venue.? To celebrate our successful jog, we went out for a lunch of sausage baps at?Heap's Sausages?here in Greenwich.? Yum!? Trust me, if anyone ever offers you a sausage bap, just say yes!
Opening ceremonies are tonight and where the village was relaxed earlier in the week there is now a nervous energy in the air that you can feel as the competition grows near... the good kind of nerves, the ones that tell you something big is about to happen.
Be right back, I'm going to watch the teams leaving for the opening ceremonies from my balcony...
And they are off!? They looked like very well-dressed ants, gathering out on the sidewalk in front of the Team USA dorms.? I'm not walking tonight because of my early ride time tomorrow morning, but I hope my team mates have a great time!
Tomorrow is day one of the competition... wish us luck!